Hey! Last weekend I caught a really cool movie at a documentary film festival in Toronto. (Quick poll: do you guys like documentaries? Truth be told, I got into documentaries late, but now I totally love them…)

The movie was called The Last Continent. It’s about a crew of scientists and filmmakers spending the winter on a boat in — wait for it — Antarctica! And if this sounds crazy, well, it kind of is. That was part of the point of the expedition. The crew was there to look at how climate change is affecting the region.

Here’s the trailer:

I recommend this movie to anyone who’s interested in undiscovered lands and, of course, documentaries. (And subtitles! It’s in French.) It’s not a summer blockbuster like Prince Caspian, but it’s got lots of thrills of its own.

Talk to you soon! Hope you enjoy the trailer.

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

Hey all. It’s Friday! Woo hah. Who doesn’t love Fridays? End of the work/school week, start of the weekend, and hopefully, from now on, Mailbag Day! That’s right: I’m going to try to post one of these every week. Lots of great questions this week, so let’s get moving:

Q: What is it like to be the editor of a magazine that so many pre-teens read?
— Kendall

CB: It’s funny. For our June issue, we’re doing our second ever “What’s it Like…” feature where we ask some amazing people what it’s like to do what they do. (For instance, we asked Holly Black, the author of Spiderwick, what it’s like to see your book turned into a movie. She said… psyche! You’ll have to wait for the June issue to find out!)

Anyway, long story short, your question fits right in! My short answer is: “Um, awesome?” It’s really cool getting letters from fans of the magazine and signing autographs when we do school visits. It’s a lot of pressure sometimes, too. We’ve put out so much good stuff in the past that we have a lot to live up to.

Q: What does your name mean?
— Madison

CB: Awesome question. I love stuff like this. I found a cool website called behindthename.com that lets you check out the history and meaning of your name. Here’s what it says about my name:

“From a Scottish surname which was derived from Gaelic creag meaning ‘crag’ or ‘rocks.’ The surname originally belonged to a person who lived near a crag.”

Fun, huh?

The site also has lists of the most popular names in different places from year to year. And, just in case you were curious, “Craig” was the 548th most popular name for babies born in the U.S. in 2006 (right behind “Waylon” and “Oswaldo”). Number 528? “Orion.” Like the constellation!

Q: Is the artist who drew the May cover the same artist who drew Jan/Feb 2007’s cover?
— Madison

CB: You bet, Eagle Eye! The artist’s name is Monika Melnychuk. She’s one of our favourites, for sure.

(By the way, Madison wins the first-ever OWL Blog Reader of the Week Award. Ta-da! Congratulations, Madison. We may never have another such award, but your many comments — too many good questions to fit in the mailbag — deserve special recognition!)

Q: When are we going to know who was the winner of the Try This at Home book?
— Emily 9

CB: The contest deadline is the end of May. If you win, you’ll find out right away. If not, you’ll find out the names of the winners in the “Hoot” section in the October issue of OWL. Good luck to everyone who entered!

Q: Have you heard of Archie comics? You could put it in the next comic issue! What is your fave comic?
— Isabelle

CB: Definitely, I used to read Archie comics all the time. They’re lots of fun. Maybe we can review Archie comics in “What’s Hot and What’s Not.” I’ll pass your request along to Mandy, our “What’s Hot” guru.

My favourite comic? Hmm. I was always a big X-Men fan. I collected a bunch of those and kept them in perfect condition in little plastic sleeves in huge boxes in my closet. I was also a huge fan of the movies (up until X-Men: The Last Stand; yuck). What are your favourite comics, everyone? Do you like superhero comics? Newspaper comic strips? Manga? Fill me in on what you think is the coolest comic out there right now.

That’s it from me, guys. Next week: hockey questions! (Don’t worry, guys. I haven’t forgotten you.)

Have a great weekend.

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

When you get your May issue of OWL (available at newsstands all over the place!), flip directly to page 17. It’s one of my favourite Animals of the Month ever: the lanternfly. It’s got a head like an unshelled peanut, and it’s also known as the peanut-head bug. I was so bummed when I found out that wasn’t its proper name. (FYI: though it’s called the lanternfly, it doesn’t light up at all. So, uh, why’s it called the lanternfly? Can’t someone just go back in time and name this thing the peanut-head bug for real?)

Under any name, the lanternfly is a perfect Animal of the Month because it’s fun, weird, and cool-looking. Hilarious facts, too. Here’s one that didn’t make it into the article: one of the ways the lanternfly chases off predators is by drumming its hollow head against trees. Apparently, the loud noise scares them off. Awesome!

What’s your fave Animal of the Month? Better yet, what’s your favourite animal? What are some of the neat facts about it? Post a comment at the bottom of this post or email me your picks.

And, before you go, check out this hilarious National Geographic clip from YouTube. It’s about goats that faint (I’m not joking!):

’Til next time!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

Hey! It’s been a couple weeks since I posted a mailbag and the questions have really been piling up. Let’s get to it:

Q: Craig, when’s your birthday? What’s your astrological symbol?
— Katie

CB: My birthday was just over a month ago (March 5), so I’m a Pisces. According to astrology.com, that means I want to live in a “sweet and perfect little world.” Which I guess is true except for the “little” part. I’m pretty big. I need all the leg room I can get.

Q: I’m also a big basketball fan. Who’s your favourite player?
— Frank

CB: Hmm. That’s a toughie. There are so many good ones to choose from. My favourite NBA team is the Raptors (obviously!) and I really like their point guard, Jose Calderon. He’s from Spain. Every time he makes a three-point shot he holds his arms in the air like this.

Check him out:

Nice shot, huh?

Q: How many people are working on the magazine each month? Does each person have a specific column to work on?
– Emily

CB: Ooh. Another toughie. Let’s see: there are six or seven of us who work in the office writing stories, designing the magazine, and taking pictures. There are three or four more people who keep us on schedule and help us edit. Then we have some people who write stories and illustrate things from home — they’re called “freelancers” (and we are constantly jealous of them because they get to sleep in!). In the end, probably around 20 people work on each issue.

Everyone at OWL has specific sections to look after, but we all wind up reading and commenting on the whole magazine a bunch of times before it goes to the printers. It’s a team effort!

Q: What’s your next issue about?
— Sonia Yiu

CB: Glad you asked, Sonia Yiu! May is our annual sports cars issue. All the sports cars you can handle: vroom! No, no, just kidding. It’s our annual how-to feature, with lots of cool DIY skills and stuff: how to win a thumb war, make a bed, talk like a rock musician, etc. Seriously, who doesn’t want to talk like a rock musician? The lingo is so cool. Before you know it, you’re using phrases like, “Drop that gig bag and let’s lay it down.” Weird, right? Translation: “Put down your guitar case so we can record this song.” I’ve never been to a rock studio, but I have it on good authority that things like that are said all the time. Rock musicians are awesome. (Note: I really was kidding about the sports cars thing. I don’t own a car. I don’t even own a bike. Public transit rules! Except for most of the time…)

Q: Love the new cover for April.
— Madison

CB: Yes, I realise this isn’t a question. But it’s a great observation! I happen to agree with Madison on this one big time. The cover for April is great, don’t you think?

And that’s all the time I’ve got. As always, post your comments and questions at the bottom of this post and I’ll answer them ASAP. Talk to you soon.

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

Welcome to a new feature on the blog! It’s called “Five Questions with…” and it works like this: from time to time I’m going to talk to cool OWL-related people I know. Right now the plan is to ask the same five questions of everyone I talk to, but, you know, that could change any time.

First up is the ultra-talented, über-supreme Steven Charles Manale. Manale (say: “man-alley”) writes and draws the “Chick and Dee” comic in chickaDEE Magazine every month. He also illustrates stuff for OWL sometimes and creates Super Slackers, his very own web comic, on a somewhat less regular schedule.

Here is a big picture of Manale looking windswept AND windblown:

Neat, huh?

On to the questions!

Q: What was the last dream you had?
Steven Charles Manale: I dreamed I was the King of the Marshmallow Planet! My three loyal (and royal) assistants warned me that the planet had broken out of its orbit and was headed dangerously close to the sun. So, before it could melt, I ordered my subjects to eat all their marshmallow homes and cars! I started with my Royal Marshmallow Foot Rest. I ate the whole thing! When I woke up my pillow was still there! C’mon. It’s impossible to eat a pillow.

Q: What’s your favourite day of the week?
SCM: I like any day that I do drawings! So, I like most days of the week. If I’m having a really bad day I can balance it out by going home and drawing lots of funny things to make me feel better. Similarly, sometimes when I’m having a really good day and I feel excessively happy, I come home and draw lots of sad things to balance out my mood so I just feel normal. Well, okay. I made that last part up.

Q: Who was your favourite teacher?
SCM: My favourite teacher was my chemistry teacher, Ms. Nitro. You’d have to very carefully choose your words when speaking to her. She’d get angry at the drop of a hatpin! She had crazy red hair that stood out on end all over as if she was always being attacked by static electricity. She also had neon red skin and no pupils. Sometimes she would make her body intangible like a ghost and run through walls! All of my other teachers seemed pretty boring compared to her.

Q: If you were a professional basketball player, what would be your nickname?
SCM: I am a professional basketball player! Because my initials are SCM, I asked all of my basketball buddies to call me SuperCoolMan. After seeing me play, though, they gave me the nickname Somewhat Competent Man. S-Comp for short. So if you pass a street corner and hear “Yo, S-Comp! Pass the rock, but stop passing it out of bounds off your foot, dawg,” swing over and say, “Hi.” I’m the short(est) one.

Q: Would you rather wear the same shirt or the same socks every day for a year?
SCM: I would wear my shirt that’s made of socks. It was a home-made gift from my Grandma at Christmas. I’m not sure she knew she was making it out of socks. We should probably get Grandma some new glasses.